样 (traditional 樣) is wood 木 with 羊 for sound — originally a carpenter's wooden model or template. The pattern you copy from became 'the way something looks': appearance, kind, manner.
样 shapes comparison: 一样 (the same — 'one pattern'), 这样/那样 (this way / that way), 怎么样 (how is it?), 样子 (appearance). Compliment someone's spirit with 有模有样 ('has the model, has the look' — done properly). From tailor's patterns to 'what's it like?', 样 is the template Chinese uses to measure everything against everything else.
A wooden 木 template — the PATTERN things look like: KIND, WAY.
怎么样 ('how-pattern?') is the universal 'how is it / how are things?' — the polite pulse-check of Chinese small talk.